Beauty and the Beast
by Kris Yamaki
Summary: Ashamed of his monstrous form, he fell into despair; for who could ever learn to love a beast? [Songfic]


_She saw me!_ He howled silently, ever quickening his run farther and farther away from the house. _She saw me... she saw everything... it's all hopeless! I'm a monster, she could never learn to love me now..._ A scent akin to rotting flesh still haunted his nostrils; he glared at his disgusting feline arms adorned with mighty, fierce claws, screaming curses in his head at himself and what he had become... the demon, unleashed when his bracelet had fallen off. He was unworthy of her. 

_Tale as old as time  
True as it can be  
Barely even friends  
Then somebody bends  
Unexpectedly..._

He tried to shake the memory of her face from his mind. That look... he had seen it so many times, but on her... it hurt to see how frightened she had been. Not that he expected anything else. A lot of people were scared of him because of his gruesome form. Akito had shunned him, even when they were children. How did she know? Just because she was the head, the core of the Sohma family... how could she know the pain of rejection, seeing the fear in others' eyes?

But what was it... what had Akito hated so much about _her_, anyway? There was something he himself had seen in her, but words couldn't do it justice.

Well, whatever it was, it made tolerating that stupid rat almost... worthwhile.

_Just a little change  
Small to say the least  
Both a little scared  
Neither one prepared  
Beauty and the Beast_

As faint as the feeling of rain on his back, his mother's voice echoed in the depths of his memory. _What's wrong? Did something happen?_

"Stop it," he whimpered, slowing to fall on his knees. His nightmarish paws covered his head in an attempt to rid himself of her voice. Far off, a twig snapped and someone vomited.

_Kyo, did Akito say something? Oh... honey, it's all right..._

"No...!"

_I'm here. Mommy loves you..._

"STOP!" He sharply, tearing at the mud with his claws. "You never loved me!" _You were too scared of me, of what I could become... you never loved me. _

Footsteps were drawing closer now. Was she still coming? He looked up slowly, listening to the sound of her shoes determinedly slipping and squashing their way across the muddy terrain.

_Ever just the same  
Ever a surprise  
Ever as before  
Ever just as sure  
As the sun will rise..._

"Kyo-kun!" Her voice cried hoarsely. She was pale, out of breath, and clutching her stomach as she slowly approached him. "Kyo-kun, please..."

"Stay away!" He screamed, whipping his body away from her.

She hesitated, but kept reaching. "Kyo..."

His head snapped around, and he glared at her through demonic yellow eyes. "How can you act like nothing's wrong? Can't you see? Can't you SMELL? I'm disgusting!" When she didn't stop, he bit at her hand threateningly. "I said stay away, you stupid girl! I don't want your pity!"

_Tale as old as time  
Tune as old as song  
Bittersweet and strange  
Finding you can change  
Learning you were wrong_

Now her fingertips brushed his grotesque shoulder. "No... Kyo-kun, I..."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He lashed out and struck her across her collarbone, and watched her gingerly reach up to touch her shredded shirt. He saw blood trickling down the side of her neck, and tears mingling with the rain. "Get lost! I can't even stand to look at you!"

_If I'm going to lose her,_ he added silently, _I'll hurt her so badly that she'll never feel sorry for me! She'll never want to see me again..._

But... why did it have to be this way?

_Certain as the sun  
Rising in the East  
Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast_

She was hugging his arm, tearfully meeting his angry gaze. "You have to come back with me. Please, let's go... I couldn't bear it if you don't!"

"Don't you get it!"

"No, I don't get it!" She cried. "I'm scared, Kyo-kun! Right now, listening to your voice, I'm scared because this isn't like you at all... please, let me understand what you're going through! As many times as you've listened to me, I want to listen to YOU now..."

He felt his tension lessen inside of him. "Tohru..."

Her tears and her words were flowing freely as she clinged to his arm. "When things get tough, when you're scared, when you're weak..." She tightened her grip. "I want you to tell me... and I want you to let me care about you, Kyo. I want us -all of us- to be together, forever..."

As he watched her, he felt the hideousness of his form melt away. He slowly looked down at his human skin, his hand, and carefully reached over to take hers. "You don't have to... love everything," he managed. "And it's okay if you were scared... it's normal for people to be scared of me. But all I wanted, all along, was someone to love me in spite of myself..." His own tears were flowing freely now, but he wiped them away. "Someone like you."

_Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast..._

He embraced her, allowing himself to drown in the sensation before he felt the all too familiar pins-and-needles of transformation. It wasn't long before it stopped, and he found himself laying on her muddy knee, but he rubbed his face against it affectionately before passing into unconsciousness.


End file.
